Disappointing
Bought this 2000 Caravan in ~2002. It was a low mileage vehicle and still is. Here in 2019 it sits with 130,000 miles. It was a comfortable car to travel in and has lots of storage room once you remove the seats. Removing the seats is a bear and they are heavy. Need two people to pull them out. Used the Caravan primarily as my wife's "business vehicle". She is a folk artist and used it to travel to the various shows in Vermont and then in VA when we moved there. Had some transmission problems early on and found out there had been a recall on the transmission. So replaced that at the dealer - no charge.
Engine had always run well, but we lived in Vermont when we bought it, so rust was a concern. Did the "oil the undercarriage" bit every year to help prevent rust, but to no avail. Lots of rust. Then moved to VA where they rarely used salt or solvents on the road because we didn't often get snow. Still, lots of rust. Moved to Southwest Virginia in 2005 and in about 2008 started having trouble with the brakes. Rust had corroded the lines to the point that fluid was spurting out. Had to replace all the brake lines under car. Had a brake caliper stick about a year later and I replaced that myself as it was all bolt on and I didn't have to crawl under the car to fix it.
We used the car for the 10-hour drive from VA up to Michigan for my wife's biggest folk art show each year until 2015. It was comfortable to drive and to ride in. It drove smoothly and handled well. It is a front wheel drive 6-cyl. so had plenty of power yet still got 20-mpg around town. It also held all $15,000 of inventory my wife would take with her to sell each year. Having a sliding door on both sides made it real easy to pack and arrange inside.
Had to replace the serpentine belt before we hit 40,000 miles and of course it broke while we were returning to Virginia from a vacation in South Carolina. Then the air conditioning quit and we had to replace the compressor. Then the driver's tilt-back seat adjustment broke so hope you like the angle of your seat because it can't be changed or fixed - need to replace the seat. Air conditioner compressor. That one lasted less than a year and we replaced the compressor a second time (warranty replacement!). Lasted 2-years this time and we gave up on the air conditioning ever working At $800 a pop to replace it, we decided we didn't need it anymore. So $2400 worth of air conditioning repairs and still no air conditioning. I put up with that because we don't need the van much but it's really handy for transporting various tools and gear as well as my wife's show stuff. Plus the aluminum frame of my pontoon boat fits perfectly in the back!
Another problem that appeared before it hit 70,000 miles was a tapping in the engine. The tapping is caused by one of the hydraulic lifters (operates between the cam and the valves) that wasn't pumping up even though there was plenty of oil in the system. If it doesn't pump up, it doesn't open the valve properly. If it's an intake valve, not enough fuel gets in. If it's an exhaust valve, the cylinder might not evacuate all the exhaust gasses after it ignites. After a few minutes, it does pump up and the tapping goes away. You don't really want to replace individual lifters. Usually you will replace all the lifters as well as all the valves and the valve springs. otherwise you will get uneven pressures in the various cylinders and at best the car will run rough. So it taps a bit like a diesel when it starts up.
In about 2012, I had to replace the headliner because it was falling apart along with the padding underneath it.
Then we started having oil leaks. We changed the oil every 3,000 to 5,000 miles and before time for the next oil change, I noticed oil spots on the driveway. Took it back to the place figuring that they had not tightened the oil drain bolt correctly and found out that wasn't the problem. Fellow had me come down into the pit and showed me that the oil was coming out of lower engine seal. The seal itself is cheap, but it will take around $2000 to $3000 to replace it because you have to disassemble and re-assemble the entire bottom-end of the block to replace that $4 to $5 part.
Shortly after moving back to the Northwest, rust bubbles appears along the lower edges of the van. Took it in to variuos body shops and the least expensive estimate was $2400 to fix it. And now finally, the passenger side tilt-back seat stopped working. My son tried to force and broke the handle right off. And, of course, the seat back is absolutely straight up which makes it unusable for most people. Had Ranaway go through the car and came back with the verdict that it wasn't worth fixing. It would cost far more than the vehicle is worth.
Verified Owner
